ANOTHER high-profile executive resigned from Morgan Stanley with a multimillion- dollar payoff yesterday as the row over guaranteed salaries raged.

Stephen Crawford, who was formerly co-president, walked out after a disagreement about a pay deal he signed only last week. He took with him a golden parachute payment of $32 million (£18 million). The payoff was guaranteed under the terms of a contract signed by Mr Crawford last week that allowed him to walk away from the bank at any time before August 4 with the $32 million. Had he stayed he would have been paid a minimum of $16 million a year for two years.

The deal came as Philip Purcell, the former chief executive, was also paid a guaranteed golden goodbye of $44 million, which took his total payoff to more than $113 million.

The deals sparked outrage among some of the most influential shareholder groups in America, including the Council of Institutional Investors.

In response to the outrage John Mack, the new chief executive of Morgan Stanley, tore up his own contract that guaranteed him a salary of at least $25 million a year and bonuses in line with other Wall Street chief executives. He promised to ask the board for a new contract that would tie his income to performance. Mr Crawford refused to tear up his contract after talks with Mr Mack over the weekend.

“The pay deal was certainly a contributing factor to his departure,” a source close to the bank said.

Zoe Cruz, who was co-president alongside Mr Crawford, was made acting president last night. She turned down her guaranteed salary and bonus package when it was offered last week. Ms Cruz, 50, is on good terms with Mr Mack but has not been given a permanent position as yet. It is understood that Mr Mack is talking to senior executives who left recently, including Joseph Perella, John Havens and Vikram Pandit, about returning to the bank as his top directors.

Shares of Morgan Stanley fell slightly yesterday.

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